1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermal printer and more particularly to a thermal printer that performs double-sided printing.
2. Description of the Background Art
Thermal printers (also referred to as thermal transfer printers or sublimation printers) are known that have a function of performing printing on both sides of recording paper, the thermal printers thermally transferring ink from an ink sheet to the recording paper for printing. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-93255 discloses a technique for reversing a rolled recording medium by a reversal means to perform printing on both sides of the recording paper.
With a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-110789, recording paper drawn from a rolled recording medium to be cut is guided into a gap between a thermal head and a platen roller in one direction for printing on one main surface of the recording paper. Next, the recording paper is turned upside down and is guided into the gap between the thermal head and the platen roller in the other direction for printing on the other main surface of the recording paper.
The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-93255 has the reversal means of reversing the rolled recording medium, resulting in an increased size of the device. Moreover, the reversal means makes an inner mechanism complex, resulting in an increased manufacturing cost.
The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-110789 transports, to the inside of the thermal printer, the recording paper drawn from the rolled recording medium to be cut, so that rollers for transporting the recording paper are needed to be disposed at relatively narrow intervals, resulting in the increased number of components.